Speaker 1: What is up, fellow Sikos, I am Damn Valley coming
at you with the one, the only, the certified, fantabulous.
Mister Grant Hughes, We're here to talk about Okac versus Minnesota,
mostly about the Okac Thunder. Are like they just feel
like that team to me, Like there's like a feeling
of inevitability right now. But before we dive into the
Thunder the series, maybe what the Minnesota Timberwolves can do differently, Grant,
how are you doing?
Speaker 2: Uh? Like the Oklahoma City Thunder in the third quarter,
I am firing on all cylinders? How about that?
Speaker 1: I like it? Unfortunately for me, much like the Minnesota
Timberwolves against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the third corner,
I am committing turnovers on twenty percent of my life's
possessions at the moment.
Speaker 2: It's tough. How are you.
Speaker 1: Feeling about We both came out of that Thunder Nugget
series not con earned about the Thunder, but wondering, oh, like,
are they a little bit more vulnerable than we thought?
And now I find myself thinking, I'm curious where you're at.
That series might have said more about the Nuggets than
it did about the Thunder.
Speaker 2: Yeah, well that was there. That part of the analysis
was there a little bit right, Like I remember talking
to people thinking, you know, the discussion would center on
like have the Thunder actually already played the toughest series
they're gonna play in these playoffs? And so I think, like,
I'm not gonna skip past you just taking that sip
of coffee and grimacing like somebody punched you in here.
I'm not gonna do it.
Speaker 1: We need a quick tangent now, because this is why
the podcast might end. Is Grant and I are currently
at war. I have tried coffee now exactly twice in
my adult life. I accidentally sipped it when I was
like ten or eleven years old once and I said
I was gonna try coffee. So I tried a Starbucks
Nitro brew and it just tasted like some artisanal like
thick beer. I didn't like it. I don't like beer
spoiler alert. So then Grant tells me, no, you just
have to try like an iced coffee, just a plain
black iced coffee. So I did you know? It was disgusting,
and so I decided, hey, I'm gonna put some almond
milk like the vanilla thirty calorie whateverthing in it, so
lo and behold. I put it in and guess what, everybody,
it still sucks. I can't believe people pay for this
on purpose, but I'm determined to finish it because these
motherfuck these about the curse for no reason. These mfors
cost like ten bucks. Starbucks is a ripoff.
Speaker 2: Yeah, well, I mean I feel like what you're describing
is sort of like a normal reaction because you know,
we've talked about this off air, Like I feel like
nobody I don't. I have yet to meet the person
who the first time they have like a sip of
coffee is like that's terrific. I would like more of
that right now, please, and I'll have it every day.
It's just it's there's an addictive chemical in it, and
you begin to just tolerate the taste and then like it,
like quote unquote like it because you're addicted to caffeine.
Like that's I really think, like what if coffee, if
coffee tasted like cherry kool aid or something like something
that like everybody can get behind, it'd be like, yeah,
I get it, but it doesn't at all. It's it's
a weird thing. It's bitter, which I but I like
it now because it's been however, many years of coffee
wakes me up in the morning. So yeah, you're what's
you're You're in a normal You're you're in a normal place,
like and you can get to the abnormal place if
you just don't drink caffeine from other sources and only
ever get it from coffee. Do that for like a month,
and you'll you will no longer think it's horrible.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna finish this one because I dumped the nitro brew,
which was also like twelve dollars or whatever it was.
And two, I want you to be reminded of the
mistake that you made me make every time I sip
it and WinCE.
Speaker 2: It's gonna be hard to just I couldn't do the
first one. I'll try really hard to power past the
subsequent wincing.
Speaker 1: So when you're making like really profound points, well good looking.
So back to actual basketball, Oh yeah, I remember.
Speaker 2: No, there was there was a sense that maybe the
thunder weren't gonna face a better team than Denver, and
that I think at this on this by the same token,
like that maybe Minnesota wasn't like the Warriors were just
all beat up, and like maybe that series didn't really
tell you anything. You just never know, right, Like you
can assume you can draw as many conclusions as sort
of possible from one series, but you just don't know
like the objective quality of a team until the next one.
Like you you'll have theories. And I think it's based
on these first two games, Like certainly it appears that
the Thunder's problems have been like they don't seem to
matter because like they aren't shooting well from three, they
are still like you know that some of them are
still there and it just doesn't matter because they're so
great at the things they're great at, and Minnesota maybe
hadn't been tested like quite, you know what I mean,
Like I think that's where we are now. Maybe that
swing if the if the Wolves make their threes or
something in game three, like that would be a start.
Speaker 1: Twenty nine point eight percent on wide open threes can't
buy a bucket from the corners, and so if those
shots fall. Maybe you're talking about different games, but I
think I look at the Thunder and the quote unquote
concerns that not so much us, but other people had
that might just be a feature rather than a bug.
Is like this is yeah, okay, the Nuggets are a
really good team, Like they don't need to make threes
to win, Like they're built in the image of this
defensive behemoth. And I continue to marvel at the pressure
they're able to give if you go look at like
the space Anthony Edwards had to operate through the first
two series of the playoffs, or certainly against the Lakers,
versus what he's dealing with now, where it's there's basically
like two bodies. It feels like always there, but the
entire defense of shades towards him and they're not giving
up anything else. The thunder are maniacal and they're great
and they're just you know the thing I keep getting
caught up on right now too, And it's like been
that way since basically last year. And he was a rookie.
Casey Wallace is just like the seventh man as a
sophomore on what is what is the title favorite right now?
And so my question to you is how many MVP
awards do we pencil in Nikola topic for?
Speaker 2: Right?
Speaker 1: Yeah?
Speaker 2: If this is what Wallace can do, no, I mean,
the Wolves don't like it doesn't feel like the Wolves
are playing that badly. Like Edwards in Game two didn't
turn the ball over and like he I think he
looked real. He made reads and passes to got to
to the only open shooter, Like the Thunder are so
good defensively and so thorough that like there might be
one place to get rid of the ball when you
attack with it. And he found that guy a lot,
and the shots didn't fall and he didn't turn it over,
and I thought, like I just I don't know, I think.
Speaker 1: It's basket to right. He got a basketing game too
as well.
Speaker 2: And I think as that's part of the reason I
think we could emerge from this series. It could be
a sweep and we could say, like man, Edwards was awesome,
Like he was as good as you could be against
that defense. And it's just like it's not fair to
judge any player on what he does against like Jokic
had some of the worst offensive games of recent memory
against the Thunder, like more turnovers than assists a couple
like that kind of thing, Like yeah, stuff that never happens.
So like I think it's a testament to Edwards that
he had the game he did, and then I think
we should just also be prepared to accept that, like
he could do that again and it won't be enough,
you know, like he could shoot even better and not
turn it over and make the right reads and it
won't mat Like I think we maybe have reached that
point with a Thunder, to where they just their defense
is just so good and they have enough of everything
else to where you just sort of can't beat them,
especially if you get a decent Jalen Williams offensive game
and Shay gets you know, eighty five percent of a
good Shay game, and then it's just like and then
Cason Wallace does what he does, or Alex Cruzo chips in,
or Dort makes a rainbow three, and you're like, well, okay,
so that's an unwinnable game for a normal wall opponent.
Speaker 1: You know, do you see any area aside from and
I but this matters too, So I don't even know
how to spend much so much time in it. But
nas reed not making a single one of his three pointers.
A lot of those have been good looks. Some of
it does boil down to if if the nod and
I mean Anthony Edwards's jumper hasn't been great in this
series too. But aside from just make the wide open
threes that Oklahoma City so far is conceding, is there
anything they could do? Because the only thing that I
like maybe sort of notice is it feels like they
could punish Minnesota specifically. Okay, see if okeyes, he's gonna
be in drop more, like you need to figure out
a way to punish that, because right now I don't
think Anthony Edwards has done that. But I also don't
know what's the best way. Is it to bring Jayden
McDaniels in as the screener and then maybe you get
to go after Shay a little bit And that's in
so far as one the thunder let that happen too
that Shay's even a liability, which he's which he's not.
It's just more about energy expenditure. I just don't have
a ton of suggestions. Again, aside from that they should
really just consider hitting their three pointers.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean that's that's obviously the starting point, and
it's like sort of everything else we talk about subsequently
kind of won't matter if that, if they don't just
start making threes at like a normal like what you'd
expect I actually kind of look at the other end
of the floor for Minnesota defensively, because like, I think
this will just be mostly a defensive series. Uh, and
it's you know what, what was one eighteen one oh
three in game two? One eighteen is like a fair amount,
I think. I think for the Wolves to have a
real shot, you need to get that number down and
like so you can mess. There was a stretch in
game two where Reid was the center and Minnesota was
kind of more aggressively trapping and move and like looked,
you know, nobody's as mobile and athletic as as the
Thunder looked defensively, but the Wolves looked close to that.
And I don't have the numbers for that stretch, but
it's it kind of felt like, oh, this is more
of like an equal footing kind of scenario when the
Wolves are a little smaller and a little more act defensively,
because if you're gonna make the Thunder look bad, I
think it just has to come when the Thunder are
on offense, because they like other than make your shots. Like,
I don't know what your fix is offensively for Minnesota,
but like maybe you exploit a thunder offense that's not,
relatively speaking, not a strength. So I would just look
at what can Minnesota do defensively to sort of keep
this keep these things a little closer, particularly in the
third quarters, and maybe that's more read and smaller guys.
You have to balance that against the fact I had
to double check this, Dan, because I can't believe this
was true. The Wolves starting five is a plus sixteen
point two per hundred for the series and was plus
fourteen point four in Game two with with the Wolf's
starters on the floor, So it's like, okay, let's downsize
and mess around. It's like, no, the only lineup you
have that works is your starters. So I don't like.
I just I don't know what Minnesota does. I still
do tend to think again that your best bet might
just be to hope you can you can slow the
Thunder offense down and turn them over maybe a little
bit like that kind of thing, because I don't know
how you're gonna score on that defense.
Speaker 1: I do think, and I mean this could contribute to
your defense because it puts your defense in compromising positions.
They've just the Minnesota has gone through these stretches where
like the turnovers have gotten absurd. And I know it's
the Thunder's defense and that's what they're designed to do,
but there's been something like really bad passes in transition,
like nos Reed trying to throw across like Nosrey shouldn't
be thrown cross court passes against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Sorry,
And is Rudy Gobert.
Speaker 2: Ever gonna cleanly handle a pass again? Like in his life,
just every ball that touches his hands is like something
is it's all the possession is now compromised because he's
not catching it cleanly or he's it's just like, I
mean this that's unknown thing with him, but it's like
you can't afford you can't afford to just not be
able to pass it to somebody against the Thunder.
Speaker 1: And especially with the way that the offense is fairing,
like if you don't have guys missing wide open threes
and you look at how much the Thunder will play
off of Rudy Gobert right now, that's the so you're
you know, we're sitting here saying like, oh, it doesn't
really like some of the nas read like the Nasri
with Alcobert lineups just getting hammered in this series, it's like, well,
so maybe don't go to that as much, but the
alternative is, Okay, you mentioned the starting five data, but
like if you just really leaned into that, how much
it will that hold up? Especially when I guess you
could be happy that it held up through Game two
with Julius Randall having the game he did right then
he's not playing in the fourth quarter. I thought that
was a really interesting decision because it's not like this
team is, you know, teaming with other creators and that's
what But before I throw it to you, that's what
this Thunder team does is I feel like it just
it like grinds you to the point of breaking to
where you're just like deviating from what got you here,
what's been working the most over the past few months.
And that's I'm not even blaming necessarily Chris Finch for
that specifically. Again, a lot of this comes back to
wide open shots being missed. I'm all for trying stuff,
but it's just this team can it. Honestly, as of
right now, I still have respect for the Timberolves. I'm
trying to say that I just have so much more
respect for the Nuggets watching how the Wolves have gone
about this series.
Speaker 2: I think that's the right takeaway. And I'm just like
I'm like personally annoyed by what Julius Randall is doing
now because I just had to go through the whole
like I was wrong. He was great against Golden State,
Like this version of Randall is just so critical to
the Wolf and now it's like now I and now
I can't go all the way back and be like
I knew it because it's the Thunder defense and it's
just not fair to judge anybody against that, Like everyone's
their worst self against except for Edwards, I guess against
that defense. So I don't know. I was having like
some real ech, like how do I need to like
fundamentally change how I evaluate players, because like thinking of
Randall specifically, because like maybe the right way this is
before last night. Maybe the right way is to look at,
like what can Julius Randall be at his best? And
should I just view him through the prism of like
I know he can do that, and that is like
what he did against Golden State and what he's done
earlier in the playoffs, So like let's let's positively frame
it like Randall has this in him so therefore, you know,
we should just just not assume but acknowledge that, like, yeah,
he might actually help really win you a series. But
then it's like I just view the negative. I think
of like, well, here's what I know he doesn't do well,
and now we're back to that. So I just like,
I've been spun in like ten circles by Julius Randall
in the last two weeks, and I don't. I don't
like it.
Speaker 1: That sounds like par for the course though, So it
kind of is. If it was another team other than
the Thunder, like you said, maybe it would be time
to readjust your already adjusted priors. But I think I'm
so interested to see what they do in game three
and maybe how he factors into that because I don't
know what the card is to pull. As I sit
here and say, what if the Timberwolves make more of
their wide open threes, the Thunder could also do that.
That's possibility for them to shoot better and they've had
like I don't. It just feels like Shaye's been, by
and large is excellent in this and it feels like
we haven't necessarily even seen the peak of the Thunder offense.
It's really like we probably saw it at points for
a game too, and that's sort of that's gotta be
terrifying if you're kind of looking at the rest of
the league and it's just looking at New York and Indiana.
I'm not trying to put this series over, but I
just look at the Thunder right now, and both of
you and I've kind of flirted with this take in
the past. I just I don't know who that's left
that you're supposed to pick to beat them four times
in seven tries, which lends itself merit to what you
said about it, and a lot of people said it too.
It feels like the NBA Finals might have taken place
in the Western Conference semis and I don't again, I
don't want to just write this. It's two to oh.
It's not like it's three to oh. But the Thunder
you almost have to wonder that you said it too
after that, where it was just that was the stress
test for Oklahoma City against Denver, and now it's well,
they're not gonna you know, the Minnesota Timberwolves are hanging around,
and it's felt like the same script for a lot
of these games, where it's, oh, they're hanging around, but
then things start to go off the rails a little
bit leading into halftime, and then they completely go off
the right following halftime.
Speaker 2: Yeah, And I don't know what that is. It's like
because there's an element of that with the Pacers too.
It just happens later in the game where it's like
it just somehow the title wave like starts rolling and
it's just like, well, that's it. You know, the momentum
is irreversible now and there's just nothing to be done.
I definitely have I have a distinct memory from Game
two of it was a third quarter and I think
the thunder had started the push and it was like
the Wolves were down like eight something. I think it
was eight, and in successive possessions Nas Reid and I
think it was McDaniel's got wide open corner threes and
because the Wolves did generate like a handful of those,
and I as the shot goes, do you ever have
this feeling of like you're talking to the TV and
you're like, oh, that's gotta go, you know, like, oh
my god, the Wolves, this hats perfectly generated wide open
corner three at a time when you could cut it
from eight to five and that just that number feels
better because if you don't, it's going to be ten
or whatever. And read missed it, and the next time
down McDaniels had the same shot. He missed it, same corner,
and it's just like those are those are like there
are must makes and there are like must makes, and
the Wolves the Wolves made zero of the like emphasis
must makes, and they and had chances. I really, we've
both said it several times already, but like there is
a world where the Wolves definitely win game one if
they make threes, and there's also a world in game
two where like this does not get out of hand
because Minnesota just makes one or two of their must
make threes that they just didn't And so the problem
is like, well it'll normalize over It's like, well, you
gotta win four out of five games now, so you
don't really have time to rely on the process that's
generating good shots if you can't make them, And that
makes analysis hard because like the Wolves could just continue
to have the right process and just not get results
from it. So yeah, I don't know, it feels would you.
I Mean, we both had the thunder in this series,
and we both gave the Wolves like a fair amount
of credit and had it going pretty long. But like
I mean this, if you had to reevaluate it, it
does just feel like we should have maybe thought about
this being a shorter series. It just we were we
believe the thunder World the little worse than they were,
and we believe the Wolves were a little better than
they are.
Speaker 1: I even said when we were making our picks that
I want to kind of go with thunder and five. Yeah,
coming out of the Nuggets series. Then also we have indicators,
statistical indicators that show the Timberwolves are just so good
against top ten teams relatively the rest of the league,
And so I just thought this would be a close series.
And look, it still technically could be. But to your
previous point about those must makes, the thunder of officially
reached the stage of their existence where it's if they
have like a five or six point lead, I might
have just like, all the game's over, Yeah, are you
supposed to how are you supposed to outscore this team by?
When's the last time that you felt that way about
about a team at this level where it's okay, yeah,
if it's the Hornet's going up against the Celtics. Sure, yeah, yeah,
I get it, but two teams at a high level,
one of them's up by five or six, and I'm
just like, what's the point of even watching anymore? Like
there's no way that Timers are gonna win this.
Speaker 2: I can't believe it took me this long to get
to this thought that I had. I just I can't
forgot it until just now watching the Thunder just like
put the stranglehold on in the third quarter of Game two,
and which is similar script to Game one, right around
that like five to six point deficit, as they're like,
you can just feel that it's oh, it's shit, it's
now it's nine. Oh, it's just growing. And like the
last time I felt that way about a team was
it would have been the I guess it happened several
years in a row, but like the seventy three win
Warriors and then the first couple of KD years where
it was just like, I mean all the KD years
were that way. But like not to say the Thunder
were like fucking around with the game or anything, because
they were playing really hard, but like the game reaches
a point where the team a which is the Thunder
or the Early Dynasty Warriors just like have a level
they can get to that you just can't. It's like
it's not a question of will they hit it, it's
like when do they choose to hit this level and
the game ends because you can't get to that level.
And it's just like it's an it's an abundance of talent.
It's like overwhelming physicality and athleticism and speed and just
like there's just just just like something that happens when
a team is that good where it's what you're talking about,
like fairly small deficits feel insurmountable and then they just
expand the deficit to where it's like we can quit
now right because there's no chance here. It's it's like
a I don't know what, there's no quantifiable thing. It's
just like you can just tell when the team when
a team has like a special gear, and it does
feel like the Thunder have that.
Speaker 1: They were there was I can't remember which like Primer
Pod I was listening to for the series, and they
kind of use that trope of styles make fights and
minors thought was after watching game two. It was really
after Game one was the Thunder makes styles like they
force you to play a certain way, and if they
want to show it's like, oh, get Kendrick Williams will
play this series, that'll happen. Their depth and versatility is outrageous.
It's it's incredible. And just to put some extra context
on how poorly the Wolves are shooting, they're at forty six.
They have a forty six point three effective field goal
rate on wide open jumpers, so the defender six or
more feet away. And just in case anyone's not familiar,
effective field goal percentage measures two to three point efficiency.
The Orlando Magic Grant, who you know, is one of
the worst shooting teams in recent history. We're at fifty
two point seven effective field goal percentage on wide open
jumpers during the regular season. So there's room for the
Timberwolves to come up. But I know, as a lot
of you know, the mathematicians like to point out, is
we're dealing with small samples, so we don't get to
just inherently say what bore out over these super large
samples that you're gonna have enough time to progress to
that mean there's hope for sure, Like could the Wolves
play better on offense one thousand percent yet or hit
more of their shots one thousand percent. But I come
away looking at this and saying their margin for error
was so slim to begin with, and now where do
you kind of go? And the thunder have boxed them
into that situation. And by the way, like if the
wolves start hitting their wide open threes, the guys that
you know, the thunder conceding them to the thunder will
just adjust because already a wide open three against the
Thunder is kind of like it has to be an
anxiety written experience because you're watching these bodies like fly away,
like their ability to shoot those gaps is insane.
Speaker 2: And I had that exact same thought as you're talking of.
Like again, not quantifiable, I don't think, but like because
you know, as the wolves, like if you get an ope,
if you get a good look, I think there's an
added element of pressure because you know, like, first of all,
this is the only one we're getting on this possession guaranteed,
like I can't pass this up, and two like these
are so few and far between, like we I just
so like the must makes that I was talking about,
it's like they feel more pressurized because you really must
make it. And like because the Thunder just are not
going to give you other opportunities, and it feels like
such a squad and if you miss one of those,
like how deflating is that? Because you might, like when
Reid misses that open corner three in the third quarter,
I was talking about like some I'm sure in the
moment you're not thinking this, but I'm thinking, like, man,
that might they might not get another one of those
like that that you're just like, that was the only
easy opportunity you're gonna have. Now they had one on
the next possession, it turned out. But there's something like
there's something about the way the Thunder defend that make
like somehow they play defense on shots they're not actually
defending because of just the way that they play and
the way that it adds like extra stakes to every
shot the opponent gets. It just makes it harder. I
don't know, it's it's a wild thing to watch.
Speaker 1: Is there also anything to just this idea? Where so
when you look at the primary defense on Shae, who
again he hasn't been his most efficient self. He's gotten
to the line. We don't need to litigate the free
throw stuff. I mean, just the Wolves are actually getting
fouled on a higher percentage of their drives than the Thunder.
But the Thunder also just have the beat when it
comes to getting points in the pain. I think that's
going to inherently result in more fouls and also the
free throw disparities basically non existent for this series. But
so Jade McDaniels and Nikil Alexander Walker and even Anthony
Edwards if you loop his data in there, the Wolves
are allowing the Thunder to score as a team under
one point per possession when any of those guys are
defending Shay to then still be down two to zero
really sucks.
Speaker 2: What do you do? Like, that's a good again, good process,
like you've got if you get the right guys on him,
that's if things go well. I just don't so what
so what's the move you just have to? Like not
you have can't concede switches ever, you can't let Shae
get the guy he wants, Like do you just not
play I don't know, de Vincenzo or some like what
do you what's the movie?
Speaker 1: Like how to be honest? I don't know if you
could play Devincenzo if he's not going to be hitting
his threes, and that's just like a feeling I've had
a couple of times, like during the regular season when
he was going through that that low for him. That
might be something you have to look at because it's
not like Julius Randall, where I think one they can
maybe do like I thought the Wolves did a better
job of getting Anthe Edwards deeper into the paint in
Game two, and like we even saw some post touches
for him Julius Randall, just the idea of him, like
that's important, like putting pressure on the Thunder defense in
that way, even if he's not necessarily making shots. And
I know that was an ugly game from Julius Randall.
Dante Devincenzo doesn't kind of like it's almost Mike Conley territory,
except like Devincenzo doesn't even have Mike Conley's I would
say IQ or feel, so that makes it tougher. I like,
I just don't have it. I mean I do think
what maybe we're I don't even if we're underestimating, because
we talked about a million times, but the Thunder is
scoring one point seventy five points per possession after a
Timberwolves miss and so this might just come down to
make more jumpers and these games will be closer towards
the end, and that will at least give you like
that if you're the Wolves, I think that's how you
look at this, right, Whereas if we had fewer misses,
maybe some of those like really bad like the Thunder
are going to force turnovers. And like we've seen teams
commit way more turnovers against the Thunder than we've seen
from the Wolves here. So yeah, you're losing that battle.
But I think if you can make more of jumpers
that in theory you should be hitting, you at least
can say we'll be in a position to win game three.
And of course you could cling to all right, now
get now we get to go.
Speaker 2: Home, right, Yeah, well you have to, And like I
I think there's a decent chance that the Wolves do
just ye if there's another third quarter, like just this
game is over stretched from the Thunder, then in game three,
then I think we're set, Like we don't really you know,
game it's just a question of like when is this
going to be a sweep or is it going to
be five? I do don't you think there's a good
chance that Minnesota does just like capitalize on the looks
that Edward's and it's just Game three is a little
certainly the Wolves will not be able to come out
with anything less than like one hundred and fifty percent
like desperation and intensity like that. I don't know that
I think that matters, like I would expect Game three
to be close. It's just I don't know. I just
don't know how you can be like, I'll be curious.
I don't know what the line is, like Minnesota can't
be favored in a game I don't I don't think.
I mean that would be crazy, I.
Speaker 1: I get, I mean, they will be playing home. So
let's let's check this line and see, yeah, no, they're well,
they're only two point five point underdogs right now. But
this is normally the game And maybe we've kind of
moved on from that though, But wouldn't this normally be
the game in three where it's, oh, you favor just
a home team, but if they're not favored, it like
that's kind of a reflection of what the public views
of the gap between Minnesota and Okay see right now,
and if look, if you think that Oklahoma City is
hen shoulders better than Minnesota. I don't really think that
it's an insult to Minnesota so much as it's where
people and I mentioned this, you've mentioned it, were we
just overthinking the Thunder when it came to kind of
just debating like title chance. And yes, the Nuggets proved
that they could beat that the Thunder could be fallible,
but the like they found a way to win anyway.
And they even in that series, there was a there
was a few games, definitely long stretches where it was, Oh,
it felt like Game seven a perfect example, like they
felt like they decided just flipped that switch and run
away with it. And again, I haven't felt like I
didn't feel like that with the Celtics of last year,
even if they were kind of inevitable looking at the landscape.
Didn't feel like that with the twenty twenty three Nuggets.
It's what you said, I haven't felt this way about
a team since the Kevin Durant ever Warriors. Yeah, that's
that's insane to just reuse a word that I've used
like eight times.
Speaker 2: I mean, they won sixty eight games, right like that.
That is that's that's up there. That's pretty high. That's
more than at least one of those KD teams, So yeah,
I agree. I do think I think maybe the ultimate
takeaway is, like, Yokich, is that incredible? Because like we
talked about how the Nuggets were, like you know what,
sixty percent of their starting five was hurt. Like it's
just like and they and they still made a series
of that, Like it really made a series of it.
That that that to me is like really the bigger takeaway?
Speaker 1: Do you have anything else on the Thunder the Timberwolves.
I'm rooting for a close game three, but I think
what I've learned more than anything about in so far
as we had anything really to learn, I just have
all the respect in the world with the Thunder built
and I don't know that they feel inevitable right now.
Maybe that changes. This could be prisoner of the moment
type stuff, but it does I don't think it's gonna
be that way.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm with you. I The only reason I'm not
jumping like both feet into the Thunder are inevitable is because,
like the playoff lesson every year is don't overreact to
one game. But we're overreacting.
Speaker 1: It's just too so it's fine, too. Yeah, twice as
much information you ready to take us out of here
that yep.
Speaker 2: Thanks everybody for listening, for watching. I will say I
hope you're all enjoying the OKAYC Minnesota series. It's still
a lot of fun, if only because you get to
see a team play at a level you don't see
very often. Remember to ring.
Speaker 1: Stressful than Knicks pacers a little bit.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean personal allegiances aside as a little although
fairly we'll get to that at some point. Bring review, subscribe,
join our discord links for that YouTube podcast description. Leave
us a note here, leave us a thumbs up, Leave
us a comment on what you think our over reactions are,
your overreactions to our overreactions. All that good stuff. It's
gonna do it, shouts Frank Mila King.
Speaker 1: Apologies to carry out